


Ghost In The Machine

by BlueCaty



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: Internal Monologue, Mafia Life, Notice me senpai, Other, Slice of Life, Unknown Character - Freeform, What-If, just go with it, ungrateful job
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28141989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueCaty/pseuds/BlueCaty
Summary: Living in the shadows is not great, but trying to redeem yourself from a stupid mistake is even worse. It's a hard thug's life.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 26
Collections: Tiger Bites





	Ghost In The Machine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [indiegirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/indiegirl/gifts).



> A work of fiction based on the webcomic Midnight Poppy Land. All characters belong to the comic's creator Lilydusk. You can check her content also on Patreon at https://patreon.com/lilydusk.

He was just getting out of the shower when his phone rang. As he saw the name on the screen, he picked it up immediately. 

“Shoot, boss.”

The voice on the phone rapped a set of instructions. 

“Sure thing… On it... Yes, boss, report back after it’s done, as usual. Going out in five... Ok. Have a…,” the line went dead, “...good time tonight.” 

He put the phone down with a sigh. No fun for him tonight. He looked in the bathroom mirror, slightly annoyed at the disappointed expression on his face. The sad man staring back at him was not who he wanted to be. 

_Snap out of it! You have a job to do and you must do it well. Fuck, you must do it to perfection! Quit moping and get ready!_

So what if Pinky and that shit-face Brian and the rest of the crew got to go to Fallen Angels and drink themselves to death at Young Master Q’s expense? Probably score some chicks too, with their neck tattoos and pink hair and guyliner…So fucking what? Fucking peacocks. He didn’t need any of that. He was the job and the job was him. No distractions. If his boss needed this to be done tonight, he would do it without whining. Besides, you didn’t get to complain to the Tiger of Ares Street and live to tell the tale. Just as well, because he had to redeem himself anyway. 

He ran a hand through his short silver-blonde hair. The only time he took matters into his hands, he fucked it up really bad. He thought that if he found that infamous notebook, he would do Big Bro a huge favor and he could finally gain some recognition. Instead, everything went sideways, and that was because he did not do the job himself. Idiot. Almost got himself caught by the big Balthuman boss. He shuddered at the thought. Big Bro saved his ass then, but man, he was fuming. And rightfully so. The brutal training he received after that was still etched in his sore muscles. More than that, he was downgraded to a fucking errand boy. This was what pissed him off more than anything. One fucking mistake and all his hard work was flushed down the drain.

Well, now was his chance. He finally got a better mission assigned to him and he was not going to screw it up. He slipped into the black jumpsuit and tied his boots. Did a quick check into the heavy bag he always had on hand. Everything there, ready for the job. He liked to be prepared.

Out of them all, he was the reliable one. Recruited long before any of them. Couldn’t fucking remember how many times he carried out missions instead of those snotnosed shits that were having fun tonight. Yet, somehow he was not the one Big Bro played pool with. Or took to parties. Or even mentioned him to Young Master Quincey. Fuck, it was like nobody knew he existed. 

He ran through the details he was just given. 

_Owner of Giant Goldfish Company. Out of town with his wife. Check his apartment, the storage warehouse in his name, the locked office at the company. All of them tonight. Leave no traces, make sure nobody sees me. Search for Goliath’s notebook._

It was no sniper mission, but still important enough for him to understand that Big Bro decided to trust him again. He could do this. He was a fucking shadow.

Going out the door, he made the plan and route in his mind. He was feeling better already. 

***

It was early morning when he returned home and briefed Big Bro about his mission. The reason for his downfall rested on the table in front of him. 

“It’s done, boss. I have the blasted thing. Half an hour at the usual place?”

Boss was happy, he could tell. Pride swelled in his chest. He didn’t care to go to clubs or to be assigned jobs out in the open anymore. He was good at this, he was made for this. And he will continue to serve Big Bro to the best of his abilities. Loyal to the one who put his trust in him, the same one who trained him and who now recognized his efforts, as rare praise was coming out of the other end of the line. 

“Perfect. That’s why you’re the fucking Ghost, Shane! Good job tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a character that we never saw in the webcomic. His name was mentioned in episode 5, by one of the thugs who got killed by Vincent. I just had fun with it. A what-if story if you will.


End file.
